Every Single Semifinalist Competing in TechCo’s Startup of the Year Competition

September 5, 2017

1:30 pm

0 Shares

The startup world would be nothing without a little competition. After all, innovation is bred from the entrepreneurial desire to outmatch, outwit, and generally outperform other companies within your industry. If you want to make an impact, you’re going to have to show the world that you’re better than the founder standing next to you. And TechCo’s Startup of the Year competition is the perfect place to start.

For five years, TechCo has scoured the planet in search of the most innovative companies to compete at the Startup of the Year competition. This year, we’ve recruited startups from 24 states and 9 countries to guarantee a diverse and innovative lineup. Companies from the West, the East, the Midwest, the South, and the World will aim to woo our panel of tech titan judges for a chance at prizes, recognition, and bragging rights for a full year. Plus with 36 percent of companies headed by women founders and 45 percent led by minority founders, our commitment to diversity will be undeniably palpable at Innovate Celebrate 2017.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the 100 semifinalists competing at the Startup of the Year competition, make sure to read their descriptions, check out their websites, and vote for who you think will go home with the crown.

West

Not only do states like California, Colorado, Washington, and New Mexico enjoy enough sunshine to make sunscreen a necessity, they also house some of the most inventive and ingenious companies around the world in tech hubs like Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, and Albuquerque. Check out the semifinalists that call the West Coast home.

CNote Savings helps celebrate good savers by earning them 2.5 percent, that’s 40x more than a traditional savings account. CNote does this by working with a government-backed program, CDFI, to create what the public rarely hears about in finance.

OpenInvest is a social impact investing platform for retail investors. It uses proprietary technology to empower a user’s values and lets them take action, while their investments stay diversified and broadly tracking the performance of the market.

Colorado

Informu eliminates the stress, expense, and wasted time associated with losing valuables. They have created an intelligent flexible chip (Mu tag) integrated within an easy-to-use app to keep belongings safe.

Kitables gives people the confidence to build by selling approachable, project-based DIY kits in the fields of science, engineering, and beyond through a multi-channel direct to consumer ecommerce platform.

Their product WhichCraft is changing the way people shop for craft beer by providing rich product details that teach users more about their beer palate.

East

The East Coast startup ecosystem is a force to be reckoned with. Between Washington DC, New England and Silicon Alley, cities and states on the East Coast have shown the world that innovative ideas grow best when sprinkled with a little salt from the Atlantic Ocean. Meet the startups competing in this year’s competition that hail from the East Coast.

GoBaby, the Airbnb for baby gear on the go, is trying to change stressful travel by providing baby equipment rental marketplace (and app). The app offers mothers and fathers, as well as grandparents and caregivers, an easy way to rent strollers, car seats, and other items they need for their children during trips.

Roam is a network of global coliving spaces that provide everything you need to feel at home and be productive the moment you arrive. Private living space, onsite coworking, and community events. Flexible housing as a service. The future of living and working, connecting the world.

Unbound is the empowering sexual wellness brand for women by women. As an ecommerce company, Unbound is changing the shopping experience for women in this deeply personal category. The company is differentiated by focusing on product curation, engaging content, and an exceptional customer experience, all delivered in the guise of a contemporary beauty brand driven by feminist ethos.

Pennsylvania

At Module they reimagine what a home is for the 21st century. With their modular design and patent-pending structural system, it’s easy to convert a one bedroom starter unit into a three bedroom house without the headache associated with traditional renovations.

Orai fills in all the gaps between sales reps and customers, givings managers, marketers and product leaders the insights they would get from sitting in on every important call.

South

The South is home to a bevy of innovative startups and hungry entrepreneurs. From Texas hubs like Austin and Dallas to burgeoning ecosystems like Charleston and Memphis, the startups that hail from the South are all about getting the job done and doing it right the first time. Meet the startups from the South that are always committed to innovation and convenience.

Panamplify automates and eliminates all the grunt work for marketing agencies who build reports for their brand clients. They use Intelligent Systems (AI) to assemble and represent meaningful reports providing massive cost savings. Panamplify is the reporting easy button.

Georgia

Florida

BOTY, made by Appocalypse, uses technology to enhance the bar experience. They believe the bar is the center of connectivity and encourages face-to-face interactions.

Midwest

The Midwest is home to more than friendly faces, great sports teams, and frigid weather. This part of the country is filled with startups and entrepreneurs that are more than happy to show the coasts where innovation really comes from.

Illinois

BallotReady is the nonpartisan online voter guide to every race and referendum. From the top of the ticket to the very bottom, BallotReady helps voters compare candidates based on stances on issues, biography, and endorsements.

The LISA App brings together thousands of service providers (i.e., artists) through technology. LISA’s independent artists determine the services that they will provide, where they want to provide those services, and the price that they want to charge. LISA is an artist’s storefront, and that artist can manage his or her entire clientele from our platform.

Juggle helps families by connecting them with mom-approved college students for on-demand childcare, pet sitting, and party assistance via a mobile app that allows them to look, book and pay sitters their friends have used and reviewed.

North Dakota

PHR Plus is a SaaS platform that powers population health programs and puts individuals in control over their health information.

International

Whether you’re innovating fintech in Africa or tackling smart energy in Europe, the international startup community needs to recognize that startups are changing business for the better all around the world. Meet the startups from countries outside the US that are competing in this year’s competition.

United Arab Emirates

Karavan is a mobile app that facilitates skill and service exchanges between refugees and citizens using a non-monetary points system in order to regain their autonomy and agency by using a points system.

Did you like this article?

Sorry about that. Try these articles instead!

Conor is a writer, comedian and world-renowned sweetheart. As the Senior Writer at Tech.Co, he’s written about everything from Kickstarter campaigns and budding startups to tech titans and innovative technologies. His background in stand-up comedy made him the perfect person to host Startup Night at SXSW and the Funding Q&A at Innovate! and Celebrate, posing questions to notable tech minds from around the world. In his spare time, he thinks about how to properly pronounce the word “colloquially.”